Zach LeDay nearing acquisition of Azerbaijani passport / News - Basketnews.com

Zach LeDay is on the verge of becoming eligible to help the Azerbaijan national team in the FIBA World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers.

Credit: Partizan Mozzart Bet/Emilija Jovanovic Credit Partizan Mozzart Bet/Emilija Jovanovic

Partizan Belgrade's big man Zach LeDay is nearing the acquisition of the Azerbaijani passport that will make him eligible for the Azerbaijan national team, sources tell BasketNews.

Zach LeDay

Position:PF, CAge:29Height:202 cmWeight:106 kgBirth place:Dallas, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

AS Monaco's center Donta Hallis also working on obtaining Azerbaijani citizenship.

Azerbaijan will participate in the FIBA World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers.

Azerbaijan has been placed in a group alongside Switzerland, Kosovo, and Ireland. The group winners and the highest-ranked second-placed team from the three groups will progress to the next round.

This stage is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2025.

Once LeDay participates in an official game for Azerbaijan, he will gain Bosman player status, classifying him as an EU player in certain domestic leagues.

LeDay is one of the best big men in the EuroLeague. Standing at 202 cm tall, the 29-year-old Americanaveraged 10.7 points (54.3% 3P, 38.4% 2P), 4.6 rebounds, and a 12.6 efficiency rating in the EuroLeague last season.

During the playoff series against Real Madrid, he posted 15.4 points (53.8% 3P, 44.4% 2P), 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and a 15.6 performance index rating.

In the ABA League finals against Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, LeDay played an important role in securing the championship title after ten years, averaging 13.8 points (51.9% 2P, 55% 3P) and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Azerbaijan returned to the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries in 2022, finishing fourth in the tournament, the lowest-tier category of the biennial FIBA EuroBasket competition.

Former EuroLeague head coach Aleksandar Trifunovic led the Azerbaijani national team.

Jordan Davis, an American-Azerbaijani player from UCAM Murcia, who played as a naturalized player, emerged as the top scorer for the team.

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